THE PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER turns 24 years old on Wednesday, an anniversary that serves as an opportunity to take stock of the journey we have taken with our faithful readers through good times and bad. Ever-present in our minds, as we have strived to bring our readers balanced news and fearless views, are the circumstances that gave birth to this paper, and our shared commitment, with you, our readers, to the freedoms and responsibilities that led to the Inquirer being established and to which we continue to hold fast.

That shared commitment is to liberty as enshrined in democracy; to a citizenry that demands to be informed even as it insists on our shared dedication to our democratic project being enriched and yes, enlivened, by contrasting and contending viewpoints.

This newspaper was born of a country?s?and not just our profession?s?thirst for the freedom to know the real score on pressing issues of the day, without censorship and official control. A hundred flowers bloomed, back then, even in the parched soil of a dying dictatorship, blooming as much out of hope than any genuine concessions to freedom from that dictatorship.

That we have continued to flourish where others withered, is entirely due to our readers. They have not only kept faith with us, but they keep urging us always to improve our ability to bring them the news and provide them with opinions and analysis that matter. Neither coups nor terrorism, nor official hostility?covert or overt?has stopped us?again, not least because our readers stood with us.

Within three months of our being founded, liberty was regained as the dictatorship collapsed and whimpered its way into exile. Back then, we vowed, with the entire nation, ?Never again!?

Never again would voice or pen be silenced or stilled by dictatorship. Never again would democracy be relinquished due to pied pipers trying to seduce the country into willingly relinquishing its hard-won freedoms. Never again would our vigilance relax, our insistence on accountability be thwarted, or our commitment to democracy waver.

Along the way, as we maintain our shared adherence to these values, we have done our best to innovate, joined by old and new readers alike in finding ways to bring out news and information not just by means of the morning paper, but through our sister publications and our other news-gathering and news-providing efforts, as well.

Through Inquirer.net we have been at the forefront of keeping readers informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, adding more context by means of special reports, blogs, and other features, including video. More recently, we have taken to maximizing the potential of online tools such as Twitter and Facebook to stay connected with our readers. And we have steadily improved our ability to alert the public to breaking news by means of our text alerts.

This coming year promises not only constant improvements in this newspaper as a fixture of daily life, but also in how we bring the news on other platforms. We are an organization where convergence is no mere buzzword but a fundamental aspect of our culture.

Whether by means of the written word, or pictures, whether by video or audio, at the core of everything we do is our commitment to never let ignorance triumph, or fear take hold, or cynicism hold sway.

We are not just proud, but grateful, that you, our readers, have marked the passing of the decades with us, and that we have been joined by many new readers, a generation that has grown up with us, whether as a fixture of their parent?s breakfast table, or in the office, or now on their computer terminals and cell phones.

By this time next year, our country will have ushered in a new administration that will have to confront many old problems. Who knows what fate has in store for our country in the intervening 12 months? Still one thing we can be sure of: The Inquirer will continue to live up to your trust, and our shared values, and our shared aspirations, including that resounding and eternal vow: Never again!